Harper Government Keeps Pitching Pipelines To U.S. That Alberta Doesn't Want

OTTAWA - A new political reality surfaced Wednesday in which Ottawa is aggressively marketing an Alberta pipeline project that the new provincial government says it won't promote and doesn't even want.

Finance Minister Joe Oliver's speech Wednesday before a Wall Street crowd makes it clear Ottawa is happy to take over from the Alberta government when it comes to pitching the stalled Keystone XL project in the United States.

The federal Conservative government's latest Keystone pitch comes just days after Alberta voters elected the NDP and leader Rachel Notley, who has made it clear she won't be taking part in the pipeline-promoting trips of her predecessors.

In his address, Oliver once again expressed the Conservative government's exasperation with the delays in approving the project, which would transport Alberta oilsands bitumen to the U.S.

"To take full advantage of our energy wealth we need to access markets, which implies the construction of pipelines," Oliver said in his speech, given at an event organized by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

"That is why Canada finds it frustrating that it's still awaiting presidential approval on the Keystone project."

Following Notley's stunning victory last week in Alberta, which gave the NDP a majority government, Ottawa appears to have lost a crucial partner in the effort to promote Keystone to Americans.

Notley has said she doesn't necessarily oppose pipelines, but when it comes to Keystone XL, she would rather see the oilsands bitumen refined in Canada instead of the U.S.

And unlike Alberta's Progressive Conservative premiers of the past, Notley has said she's prepared to let the Keystone XL debate in the U.S. play itself out.

Up until now, Albertan governments have been active on the ground in Washington, where they've marketed the region's oil and the Keystone XL project. The province's messaging has mirrored that of its own oil industry and Alberta has even spent money on lobbyists to help support the sector's cause.

The province has also promoted the pipeline through its four-member diplomatic office in Washington, which could now face personnel changes under the new government.

The future of Keystone XL itself remains murky.

U.S. President Barack Obama has vetoed a bill to build the controversial pipeline, played down its importance for the American economy and described the method of producing oilsands crude in Canada as "an extraordinarily dirty way of extracting oil."

Obama, however, has left his door open a crack. He has said his decision to veto the bill wasn't the final word on the subject and he has yet to make a final decision.

Oliver's speech Wednesday shows that Ottawa remains hopeful. It hit notes from previous Keystone pitches from the Harper government, insisting the project would be safe for the environment and create jobs as well as economic growth in both countries.

"We hope it will be approved so Canada and America can move forward together," he said.

Follow @AndyBlatchford on Twitter

Also on HuffPost:

Close



Kinder Morgan Pipeline Protest, Fall 2014

of





Four anti-pipeline protesters locked themselves to the Supreme Court entrance in Vancouver on Nov. 27, 2014 to protest an injunction granted to Kinder Morgan. The energy giant requested the removal of protest camps and activists on Burnaby Mountain where its crews are doing survey work.

Protesters rally on Burnaby Mountain.

Veteran protesters from the Clayoquot Sound campaign in the '90s were arrested on Burnaby Mountain on Nov. 26, 2014 as part of the protest against the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Environmental activist David Suzuki speaks to the crowd on Burnaby Mountain on Nov. 23, 2014, as his grandson Tamo Campos, left, looks on.

A protester approaches an RCMP officer.

Police hold back a crowd on Burnaby Mountain on Nov. 23, 2014. Activists are defying a court injunction to allow Kinder Morgan crews to conduct survey work on a pipeline expansion.

A woman shouts at a protest against Kinder Morgan on Burnaby Mountain on Nov. 23, 2014.

Tamo Campos, grandson of famed environmentalist David Suzuki, speaks to media after his arrest.

Protesters shout at RCMP officers and contractors working for Kinder Morgan on Burnaby Mountain on Nov. 21, 2014 where a borehole is being drilled in preparation for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.

RCMP officers clear a road on Burnaby Mountain so Kinder Morgan contractor vehicles can access the site where a borehole is being drilled in preparation for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.

Protesters face off against the police line on Burnaby Mountain on Nov. 21, 2014.

An RCMP officer works on removing protesters at a "tree sit" on Nov. 20, 2014.

A group gathered on Burnaby Mountain to stand against a proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline on Nov. 21, 2014, the day after dozens of people were arrested on the same site.

RCMP officers take protesters into custody at an anti-pipeline demonstration in Burnaby, B.C., on Nov. 20, 2014. A small group of activists had linked arms, chanting “Stop Kinder Morgan,” as the Mounties moved in to end the months-long demonstration against the pipeline expansion.

Protesters hold a "tree-sit" at a borehole site on Nov. 20, 2014.

SFU professor Lynne Quarmby speaks to media on Nov. 20, 2014.

Hundreds of people gathered on Burnaby Mountain on Nov. 17, 2014 to defy a court injunction awarded to Kinder Morgan. Protesters have been attempting to prevent the energy giant from conducting survey work related to the proposed expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled against five activists named in an injunction application sought by Kinder Morgan, saying they have until 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, 2014 to dismantle encampments on the mountain.

Protesters sit near a blockade on Burnaby Mountain.

A camp setup by protesters blocks the entrance to a trail on Burnaby Mountain where work is to be done by Kinder Morgan in preparation for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project, in Burnaby, B.C., on Friday Nov. 14, 2014.

An RCMP officer stands by as a protester who identified himself as George Khossi lies under a vehicle being used by surveyors working on behalf of Kinder Morgan in preparation for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, B.C., on Wednesday October 29, 2014.

An RCMP officer talks to protesters after another protester decided to lie under a vehicle being used by surveyors working on behalf of Kinder Morgan in preparation for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project on Burnaby Mountain.

A protester with a tuque pulled over his face shouts at a survey crew working on behalf of Kinder Morgan in preparation for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project.

A protester carries a sign on a trail on Burnaby Mountain near where work is being done by Kinder Morgan in preparation for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project in Burnaby.

Surveyors, right, working on behalf of Kinder Morgan in preparation for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project are forced to leave the site by protesters on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby.

An RCMP officer walks along a trail on Burnaby Mountain while monitoring the situation between protesters and surveyors working on behalf of Kinder Morgan.